Art of knitting stockings



Sheet 1.

2 Sheets (No Model.)

P. E. BUSIEL. ART OF KNITTING STOCKINGS.

Patented Nov. 6, 1888 N. PETERS, Phme-mhc m hu, Washington. D. c.

(No Model.) V 2 SheetsSheet 2. F. E. BUSIBL.

ART OF KNITTING STOGKINGS. No. 392,535. Patented Nov. 6, 1888.

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FRANK. E. BUSIEL, or LAOONIA, NEW HAMPSHIRE.

ART GF KNITTlNG STOCKINGS.

$PECIPICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 392,535, dated November 6, 1888.

Application filed April 2, 1838. Serial No. 269,296. (No model.)

To aZl whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, FRANK. E. BUSIEL,a citizen of the United States, residing in Laconia, in the county of Belknap and State of New -Hampshire, have invented an Improved Art or Method of Knitting Stockings; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full and exact description of the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, making part of this specification.

Figure 1 of the drawings represents the web for astocking-leg knit by my improved art or method. Fig.2 is aside view ofthe completed leg, the side edges of the Web having been seamed together. Fig. 3 is a side view of the lower part of the stocking-leg and a foot-web knit upon the same, according to my invention; and Fig. 4, a side view of the completed stocking.

The first step of my invention consists in the method of knitting the web for making a full-fashioned stocking-leg, A. This is knit in a flat web in order to make a narrow ankle part and a wider upper part for the stockingleg. Instead of the usual method of knitting the web by beginning at the upper end and narrowing the web at the proper place to the narrow ankle part, I begin the web at the lower end, where the web is to be the narrowest, and knit the web upward, widening it at the proper place, 20 w, to the wide upper part. By knitting the webin this way I avoid the necessity of employing transferringpoints re quired for narrowing a knit web, which takes much more time for the knitting because of the additional motions required in operating the transferring-points, and of the slower motion given to the machine during the operation of narrowing, since in widening additional needles are simply brought into action and the speed of the machine remains the same. The web itself is just as good as the narrowed web.

My method of adding the foot and completing a stocking from such a web is as follows: The widened flat web, as above set forth, is seamed to unite the selvage edges and make a fashioned stocking-leg, as shown in Fig. 2. Then the loops at the lower end of the stocking-leg, on the front or instep part thereof, to

the number of one-half or somewhat fewer than one-half of the whole number around the ankle, are picked upon the needles of a footing-machine, and a flat foot-web, B, is knit with bulges a b for the toe and heel of the stocking, as shown in Fig. 3. Inknitting this foot-web the top part, c, is knit from the instep to the toe-bulge a, and the bottom part, (1, is knit from the toe-bulge to the heel-bulge b. I may therefore, and prefer to, knit gussets f on the bottom part, just forward of the heel-bulge, for making a full-fashioned stocking-foot, by simply widening the web, which, as above stated in describing the method of knitting the leg-web, is done without diminishing the speed of the machine. Then the selvage edges g h of the top and bottom portions of the foot-web are seamed together, and the heel end i of the foot-web is seamed or crocheted to the back part, j, of the stocking-leg.

A stocking made by this method is fullfashioned in every part and is rapidly and cheaply knit. It has noinstep-seam and only a short seam, w m, Fig. 2, where the heel is joined to the leg, besides the selvageseams on the sides of the foot. By knitting on the gussets f also the foot-web is made smaller than the ankle-web, which is desirable in making a proper proportion between all the parts. This result is effected by starting the upper footweb with fewer than one-half of the stitches of the ankle part of the leg and making up the number of stitches in the lower foot-web sufficient to join the remaining stitches of the ankle, one by one, by widening the web in forming these gussets. It is thus evident that the number of stitches in the ankle is greater than the number of stitches in the entire foot by the number of stitches added in the two gussets.

The footweb might be started from the back part of the stocking-leg and knit in the direction opposite to that above described, and finally joined to the leg at the instep; but this would make a seam across the instep, which would be obj ectionable,aud the gussets f could then only be formed by narrowing the web, which I wish to avoid for the reasons above set forth.

I claim as my invention the side edges of the footweb together and The method of knitting stockings which the remaining end of the foot-Web to the ankle consists in first knitting a flat leg-web, locginend of the leg,substantially as herein set forth. ning at the ankle end of the same and knit- In witness whereof I have hereunto signed 5 ting and widening the web toward the upper my name in the presence of two subscribing 5 end, then seaming the edges of the Web .towitnesses.

gether, then picking about half of the loops FRANK. E. BUSIEL. on the ankle end of the leg upon the needles Witnesses: of a knitting-machine and knittingaflutfoot- C. A. BUsIEL,

10 web with toe and heel bulges, and then seaming FRANK EDGERLY. A 

